Purpose – This paper seeks to develop universal software (a programming framework) enabling the implementation of service robot controllers. The software should distinguish the hardware‐oriented part of the system from the task‐oriented one. Moreover, force, vision as well as other sensors...

Purpose – The paper seeks to present a new generation of torque‐controlled light‐weight robots (LWR) developed at the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics of the German Aerospace Center. Design/methodology/approach – An integrated mechatronic design approach for LWR is presented. Owing...

Purpose – This paper seeks to present an acceleration‐based force‐impedance controller, applied to a six‐dof parallel mini‐manipulator: the robotic controlled impedance device (RCID). Design/methodology/approach – The proposed control strategy involves three cascade controllers: an...

Purpose – This study aims to investigate locomotion mechanisms of different urban search and rescue (USAR) robots currently being researched or commercially available on the market. Design/methodology/approach – USAR robots are categorized by the type of their mobility. Detailed illustration...

Purpose – This paper seeks to develop a novel legged robot. Design/methodology/approach – First, the paper models the legged robot using 3D computer model by intelligent inspiration of biological principles. Then, based on this model, it develops the prototype of the legged robot. Findings...

Purpose – This paper aims to develop a performing approach for telerobotic arc welding in an unstructured environment. Design/methodology/approach – A teleteaching approach is presented for an arc welding telerobotic system in an unstructured environment. Improved laser vision sensor...

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to describe the changes that were needed in an existing offline programming system (OLP) in order to produce heavy steel weldments. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the changes needed in an OLP system in order to produce heavy steel...

Purpose – The paper aims to report on a new welding technology, TIP TIG. Design/methodology/approach – The principle of operation and benefits of the technology are described together with a typical application. Findings – The study finds that the technology provides the quality of TIG...

Purpose – The control of weld penetration in gas tungsten arc welding (GTAW) is required for a “teach and playback” robot to overcome the gap variation in the welding process. This paper aims to investigate this subject. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents a robotic system...

Purpose – Interaction with robot systems for the specification of manufacturing tasks needs to be simple since the paper targets the widespread use of robots in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In the best case, existing practices from manual work could be used, to ensure current employees...